Millions of homes and businesses are equipped with air conditioning and/or heating systems that include an outdoor unit or condenser 15. These outdoor units are typically installed on an equipment pad 10 resting on a non-foundation grade 11. In similar fashion, power companies install transformers on prefab equipment pads placed on grade. Very frequently, the soil beneath the pad begins to erode, as illustrated by the erosion 13 in FIG. 1. Average annual soil loss around an equipment pad in the U.S. may reach 0.9″/year, depending upon rainfall and soil conditions. Even if a pad is installed according to current industry norms, odds are high that the ground underneath its downslope edges will erode over time.
Eventually, the pad can become destabilized and begin to tilt. In any event, the result is unsightly. Repair frequently involves simply backfilling soil or rocks where the erosion has occurred, but this solution is temporary, as the backfilled soil soon erodes away.
Although installers and homeowners understand that “nature happens,” they are uneasy and displeased with the look of a dangling unit, which is an expensive system component. The result also reflects poorly on the contractor. But contractors and homeowners are daunted by the effort and cost—for example, excavating and placing a foundation or footer—that they believe would be required to prevent the problem. Little thought has been given to inexpensive, low-labor systems or methods to prevent the erosion from occurring in the first place.